Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-12-10

|
moved ike blind man, and with . blind mans
drop into the road, and found himself staggering,
instead, among the iron burrows OF a ploughland,
he was In a wood, beating ga among young trees:
and then he was aware Of house with many
sntea ~ inc S, Christmas 15 Carriages ar,vess
Qor Christmas has double edge becom-
ing swiftly hooded with snow. From
Cain; wandered in the night, unpiloted, careless
| OF whittier he went: fell, and lay, and then rose
again and wandered farther and at last IKE 9
| jaws OF the city, staring at a lamp which had
already donned the tilted nightcap Of the snow II
came thickly now, a Feeding Storm" and while
he yet stood blinking at the lamp his feet were
| buried. He remembered something like 1t In the
wnd%ard side With snow, the wind utterng its
mournfui boot, himself looking on, even as now;
but the cold had struck too sharply on his wits,
| Of the Renaissance.
| His next conscious moment was on the Dean
| Bridge; but whether he was John Nicholson, OF a
bank In California street. or some former John, a
clerk in his fathers office, he had now clean for
| gotten. Another blank, and he was thrusting his
pass-key into the door-lock OF his fathers house.
| Hours must have passed. Whether crouched on
/ the cold stones or wandering In the fields among
the snow, was more than he could tell; but hours
had passed The finger Of the hall clock was close
shed shadows, and the door Of the back room-hfs
!
At so late an hour ali this was strange the lights
should have been out, the doors locked, the good
the nah tn asS az ~
| himself there and thawed and grew once more
| hungry In the warmer air OF the house.
The clock uttered its premOntOry catch; In nve
minutes Christmas Day would be among the days
| OF the paSt-ChristmaS what Chrtstmasl Well,
there was no use waiting; he had come into that
him forth again. 1t had best be done at once; and
he moved TO the door OF the back room and
| entered.
o. well, then he was insane, as he had long be-
Heved.
There, in his fathers room, at midnight the
nre was roaring and the gas blazing; the papers,
| the sacred papers-to lay a hand on which was
criminal-had all been taken OF and piled along
the floor; cloth was spread, and a supper laid,
upon the business table; and In his fathers chair
woman, habited like a nun, sat eating. As he
appeared In the doorway, the nun rose gave low
strong, calm, little masculine, her features
| marked with courage and good sense; and as John
biinked back at her, a faint resemblance lodged
about his memory as when a tune haunts us, and
| yet Will not be recalled.
why, it's joint" cried the nun.
81 daresay Pm mad" said John, unconsciously
following King Lear; "but upon my word, / do
| believe you're Flora"
! ''Of course am" replied she.
| And yet 1t is not Flora at all, thought John;
Flora was slender, and timid and OF changing
color, and dewy-eyed: and had Flora such an
Edinburgh accent? But he said none OF these
| things, which was perhaps as well. What he said
was, Then why are you a NUM-"
''Such Donsense!" said Flora. '.I'm sick-nurse:
a anE am mere nursing your sister, with whom,
matter. But that is not the question. The point
IS; How 90 you come here? and are you not
| Flora" said John, sepulchrally, 81 haven't
| eaten anything for three days. or, az least,
don't know what day 1t is; but guess I'm starv-
Ing
| "You unhappy mani" she cried "Here sit down
ana eat supper; and III just run upstairs and see
my patient, not but what doubt she's fast asleep;
| "A inn HfiD iro
With this specimen OF the French, not Of STRAIT
ford-atte-Bowe, but OF finishing establishment
In Moray Place, she left John alone in his fathers
sanctum. He fell at once upon the food; and 1t is
10 be supposed that Flora had found her patient
wakeful, and been detained with some details OF
! nursing for he had time TO make full end of all
| there was TO eat, and not only to empty the
teapot, but to I'LL IL again from a kettle that was
htIully singing on his fathers fire. Then he sat
| torpid, and pleased, and Dewidered; his misfor-
| tunes were then half forgotten: his mind con-
sldering, not without regret, this unsentimental
| He was thus engaged, when that bustling
| woman noselcssly re-entered.
Have you eaten?" said she. ''Then tell Inc all
1t was long and (as the reader knows) pitlful
story; but Flora heard 1t with compressed lips.
| She was lost In none OF those questionings Of
human destiny that have, from time TO Time ar
| rested the hight oil my own pen; for women, such
| as She are no philosophers, and behold the con-
| crete only And women, such as she, are very
"Very wen,r she said, when he had done; "then
down upon your knees at once, and beg Gods for
And the great baby pumped upon his knees,
| and did as he was bid: and none the worse for
| that! But while he was heartily enough request
Ing forgiveness on general principles the rational
| side OF him distinguished, and wondered II, per-
| haps, the apology were not due upon the other
Ing exercise he frst eyed the face OF his old love
doubtfuily, and then, taking heart, uttered his
protest
II must say, Flora" said he, ain all this bust
ness, ! can see very little fault OF mine"
III you had written home" replied the lady,
'there would have been none OF 1t. II you had
| even gone to Murrayfield reasonably SOBER you
would never have slept there, and the worst would
| not have happened. Besides the whole thing be-
| your father, honest man, was disappointed YOU
TOOK the pet, or got afraid and ran away from
punishment Ea We'll; yon'ye had your own way Of
| fool" sighed John.
..My dear John" said she, mot muchw
He looked at her, and his eve fell certain
| anger rose within him; here was Flora he dis
| owned; she was hard: she was Of a set color; a
| settled, mature, undecOrative manner; plain OF
! speech, plain OF habit--he had come near saying
plain OF face. And this changeling called herself
by the same name as the many -colored, clingips
| maid OF yOre; she OF the frequent laughter and
| the many signs, and the kind, stolen glances And
TO make all worse. she took the upper hand with
! him, which (as John well knew was not the true
| this Sick-nurSe.
And how do you come here?" he asked.
| She told him how she had nursed her father in
his long illness, and when he died. and she was
left alone, had taken to nurse Others partly from
habit, partly TO be OF some service In the world:
| partly, it might be, for amusement >"Fhere's no
| accounting for TASTE" said She And she told him
how She went largely 70 houses OF old friends as
the need arose; and how she was thus doubly wei
| come, an old friend first, and then as an ex-
perienced nurse, to whom doctors would confde
| the gravest cases.
| "And, indeed, It's mere farce my being here for
poor Maria," she continued; "but your father
takes her ailments TO heart, and cannot always
| be refusing HIM We are great friends, your
/ father and l. he was very kind to me long ago
| ten years ago."
| A strange stir came in Johns heart. All this
while had he been thinking only OF himself? All
| this while, why mad he not written to Flora? In
penitential tenderness, he took her hand: to his
awe and trouble, IL remained In his, compliant A
voice told him this was Flora, after all-tOld him
| so quietly, yet with a thrill OF singing.
"And you never married?" said he
"NO, John; never married." she replied
The hall clock striking two recalled them to the
\ sense OF time.
"And nOw," she said, 'you have been fed and
warmed, and have heard your story and now fts
| high time TO call your brother"
| 30" cried John. chopfallen, do you think that
absolutely necessary"
| ~ can't keep you here; / am stranger" said
| she. "DO you want to run away again? I thought
| you had enough that"
| He bowed bis head under the repr0of She de-
| spised him, he rejected, as he sat once more
| alone; mOnstrous thing for woman to despise
| man; ana strangest OF all, she seemed to like
/ him. Would his brother despise him too9 And
| would his brother like him?
And presently the brother appeared, under Flo
ras eecort; and, standing afar on beside the door.
| way, eyed the hero OF this tale.
| $50, this Is your" he said at length.